When David Frazier first saw all-female group Kinoco Hotel perform at Japan’s Fuji Rock two years ago, the cofounder of the Urban Nomad Film Festival knew that the band’s frontwoman, keyboard-vocalist-dominatrix Marianne Shinonome, would appeal to the crowds. After all, everyone loves a good spanking.
“[Shinonome] carried a mini-whip and riding crop,” Frazier tells the Taipei Times of the performance in an phone interview on Monday. And though the Shinonome didn’t engage in any whipping, there was plenty of French kissing and “sexually suggestive motions with the keyboard.”
Yum, yum.
Photo courtesy of Urban Nomad
Frazier immediately wanted to book them but “I assumed that they were too big for Taiwan.” And so he didn’t think too much more about the band, which he calls “retro punk and psychedelic with a J-pop edge,” until a chance meeting last summer with the international tour manager in the early morning hours at a bar in Tokyo.
“It was a lucky coincidence,” Frazier says — one that led to a meeting with Kinoco Hotel’s tour manager, record company boss, band manager and Shinonome herself.
“She actually had a riding crop at the meeting,” Frazier says.
Photo courtesy of Urban Nomad
That meeting led to Kinoco Hotel headlining Opening Freakout, Urban Nomad’s two-day music festival at Taipei’s Tiger Mountain on April 15 and April 16. They will take the stage on April 15 at 9pm.
This is the first year that the annual music festival will be held over two days — something Frazier attributes to the number of bigger-named Japanese bands wanting to play at the festival.
Urban Freakout will be the first in a series of events that will lead up to the Urban Nomad Film Fest, which runs from May 11 to May 21.
Photo courtesy Urban Nomad and Doris Hung
SOMETHING FOR EVERYONE
Though the dominatrix routine will be confined to the stage, in addition to the bands, booze and food, there will be acrobatic performances (think Cirque du Soleil), a burlesque troupe and a fortune telling booth. And for the kids, there will be a balloon twister and face painting.
The music will be spread among three stages and there will be 30 bands and DJs. The organizers say that programming will emphasize rock and electronic on Saturday and jazz, reggae and world music on Sunday.
The center of the Tiger Mountain venue is at a desanctified folk temple turned arts center, a 10-minute taxi ride from Taipei and a cool venue to shake your bones.
In addition to Kinoco Hotel, there will be first ever Taiwan gigs by three other Japanese groups: indie scene mainstays and electro-rockers L.E.D., Tokyo’s old-school reggae and Latin DJ crew Caribbean Dandy and the jazz-trance band Omni Sight.
Taiwan-based bands and DJs include Skaraoke, White Eyes, Sonia Calico, Marcus Aurelius, Balkazar and DJ Vicar.
The fest will also see visits by international promoters coming to check out the Taiwan scene, including Shogo Komiyama of Japonicus, who regularly works with Fuji Rock and has organized Japan shows for Manu Chao, Laurel Aitken, Rico Rodriguez, Fermin Muguruza, The Beat, Very Be Careful and the world’s best acts in reggae, ska and Latin rock.
“This is Freakout you won’t want to miss,” Frazier says.
URBAN FREAKOUT BAND PICKS
Caribbean Dandy
April 16 at 8:40pm, Main stage
This Japanese DJ crew are some of the biggest names in Japanese music and according to their bio “exploded onto an unsuspecting Tokyo music scene with its unique mixture of Rebel Music and massive doses of Mestizo, Cumbia, Patchanka, Balkan, ska, rock, Latino and raw energy.” Expect a stupendous live show.
Omni Sight
April 15 at 6:30pm, Main stage
Kyoto based electronic music collective Omni Sight’s music is characterized by strong beats by raw bass and drums and other-worldly soundscapes with a tip of the hat to club music. Omni Sight is its own trip.
Skaraoke
April 16 at 7:30pm, Main stage
Skaraoke has emerged as one of the top ska bands in Taiwan. Led by trombonist and frontman Thomas Hu (胡世漢), the ensemble, which formed in 2007, is one of the nation’s top party bands. Dressed in matching suits and crooning in English and Chinese, these cats will surely keep your bones jangling through the night.
Elsie Song
April 16, Temple stage
Latin, freestyle, ballroom and samba, there isn’t a dance style that doesn’t appeal to Elsie Song. But last year she saw the aerial hoop and she’s been flying ever since. If you wonder at aerial acrobatics, then Elsie is not to be missed.
Marcus Aurelius
April 15 at 9:15pm, Temple stage
April 16 at 10pm, Temple stage
An old Taiwan hand and perennial favorite, with his fingers in a number of production pies, Two-Time Red Bull Thre3style Finalist DJ Marcus Aurelius will spin a variety of styles which he says will “please the masses and hardcore heads, as well as skillfully mix in surprises.” Aurelius will perform with Burlesques Metaphysique.
The Reggae Riddims
April 16 at 2pm, Main stage
If Reggae is your thing, than the Reggae Riddims are an act that you’ll want to check out. The four-piece ska and reggae ensemble cover the entire gamut of the genre, including classic reggae and ska songs to the acid reggae and chill-out grooves.
Balkazar
April 15 at 4pm, Main stage
This five-piece ensemble of nomads play Balkan music with a touch of rock, Latin, reggae, ska, funk, Slavic and Eastern European music all branded with the unique Balkazar’s flavor. “Taste it, and you won’t stop dancing,” they write in their artists intro. “More than a concert, listening to Balkazar is a journey.”
Nanassuss & Byron Duvel
April 15 at 7:30pm, Temple stage
This musical project merges the ambient, downbeat, bass and tribal electronic of former Go Chic bassist Sarah Wen (溫一珊), with the musical narratives of Byron Duvel, best known as the singer for Taipei indie band Formosa Romance.
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